Wheeling McDonald’s re-opens with experience of the future

Ribbon Cutting at the Bear Family Wheeling McDonald's on Lake Cook Rd (Posted by julie.travers, Community Contributor)

Community Contributor julie.travers

Wheeling | It was clear to see everybody was lovin' it on Wednesday morning when the Wheeling McDonald's restaurant located on Lake Cook Rd. celebrated its grand re-opening after undergoing major renovations inside and out.

Director of Operations for the Bear Family Restaurants, Nicole Buchanan and Miguel Rodriguez, Bear Family Accounts Payable Director, Alicia Yaeger, McDonald's General Manager, Vanessa Jimenez, McDonald's Area Supervisor, Griselda Sanchez, Village Officials including Village President Pat Horcher, and members of the WPH Chamber gathered in the lobby and PlayPlace area of the new and improved McDonald's, which originally opened in Wheeling on April 22, 1997. Bear purchased the restaurant in July of 2017 from the previous owners.

"We are excited and honored to reinvest in the community," said Buchanan. "The McDonald's of today is about enjoying the experience."

She told everyone the restaurant features self-order Kiosk's, table service, Mobile order with the McDonald's app and Uber Eats. Buchanan also told the crowd that the Bear Family has been in business since 1967 when they opened their very first restaurant in Elgin. "Over the past 50 years, the Bear Family Restaurants have grown and now operates 32 restaurants," Buchanan said.

"It's great to see the significant investment that you've made in the future of this business and, as always, I'm impressed by McDonald's ability to respond to its customers' changing lives while maintaining the core qualities that we all know and value," Village president Horcher said.

Horcher explained the purpose of McDonald's in communities all over the world.

"McDonald's is easy to take for granted, which is kind of the point: it's a company that became successful, and then ubiquitous, by delivering consistency all over the country and around the world," Horcher added.

Horcher mentioned the necessity of McDonald's in the community member's lives.

"We should not take McDonald's for granted. Instead, we should use this occasion to appreciate it as a place where people from all walks of life encounter each other as they fuel up to face the challenges of the day and we ought to remember that this community, like any community, depends on places that are always clean, comfortable, affordable and welcoming," said Horcher.

The chamber also presented the Bear Family Restaurants a certificate of membership into the Wheeling Prospect Heights Chamber, confirming their continued appreciation in the community.

The Bear Family is committed to the communities they serve. The Bear Family has a mission to impress every guest. When people visit the Bear Family Restaurants they will experience a difference by always being greeted with a smile, being treated with respect and feeling a genuine sense of appreciation.

To keep up with happenings and events at the Wheeling McDonald's, like us on Facebook and visit our website: Bear Website.

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